This invention relates in general to fluent material handling devices and deals more particularly with a grout distributing device for use in filling voids in masonry walls.
Building construction codes in many sections of the United States contain seismic provisions which require that voids in walls built from masonry blocks be filled with a concrete or grout mix. Walls constructed in compliance with these codes afford increased resistance to earthquake, wind and hurricane damage. However, these code requirements impose additional burdens on masonry contractors.
The vertically disposed voids in a wall of the aforedescribed type must be filled from above. Each void is usually individually filled. Inefficient makeshift devices are often used in the void filling operation resulting in spillage and material waste and requiring otherwise unnecessary job site cleanup operations all of which add substantially to the cost of construction.
It is the general aim of the present invention to provide an improved device for use in filling voids in a masonry wall and which enables a plurality of adjacent voids in a wall to be simultaneously filled in a single operation. It is a further aim of the invention to provide an improved void filling device which reduces material spillage and waste and protects an associated portion of a wall from grout contamination during the filling operation, thereby increasing the efficient of the filling operation while reducing the need for job site clean-up operations.